Have a safe and happy new year!
Archives for December 2008
The Greeting Card Project
December 30th, 2008 | by Jamie Klemcke
So I thought I would close the loop on my greeting card post from a few weeks ago. I got around to ordering my greeting cards. Well, actually I gave my photo to a colleague, and he designed and ordered them for me.
Once my little one was fed, bathed and in bed, I followed Lydia Ramsey’s advice and took the time to personally make each card out — by hand! You know, it honestly felt good writing a personal message to friends and colleagues that I normally email or catch quickly on the phone. It gave me the opportunity to put personality and sincere feeling into each card.
Yes it took me a few hours to get them all completed, but at the end of the “greeting card project,” I truly had a warm feeling knowing that I had taken time on something I knew others would appreciate.
Plus I got to share an adorable photo of my son in the greeting card. You be the judge.
So next year, I plan to get started soon after Thanksgiving. Thanks to the tips from Lydia Ramsey, I have a new outlook on personalizing greeting cards.
Video E-mail… Here At Last?
December 29th, 2008 | by Eric Welch
On a recent midwinter’s eve as I put down my cup of soy nog (yeah, deal with it) and picked up my laptop for another round of solitaire researching articles for this blog, I said to myself, “Self, whatever happened to all that hullabaloo about video e-mail?” Well, what to my wondering eyes should appear than a DMNews story in my newsfeed read… deer (boo! hiss!!):
Everyone has been wanting to do it, but no one has been exactly sure if it is a good idea because of compliance issues. Until now. Goodmail has finally come up with a plan. The beauty of Goodmail’s plan is that senders can now actually send e-mails with videos inside, without being concerned about getting stuck in spam filters or getting a bad reputation.
Honestly, I’m a huge fan of video, video technology, videogames and cheese (a bit non sequitur, yes, but very important to me nonetheless). I’d love to see this work out and become the “next big thing.” But there’s still a tiny nagging voice in the back of my mind that’s not buying into this. Sure, it’s a fantastic way to get your e-marketing message to stand out from the crowd. Sure, it’s dynamic and lively. Sure it is. Just answer this one question: what happens when everyone and their brother’s aunt’s nephew (twice removed) is doing it and the novelty has worn off?
Brian Williams and the Digital Media Frenzy
December 26th, 2008 | by Luis Paez
While not slamming eMarketing or Digital Media outright, Brian Williams does a good job of providing much needed perspective on some of the new startups springing up promising new relationships with content and media. It’s funny. Click Play.
Santa Claus: The Retired Salesman from New Jersey?
December 23rd, 2008 | by Eric Welch
I never get tired of discovering the origins of things—especially the well-established and iconic things we take for granted every day. Case in point: Santa Claus. The mere mention of his name conjures up an image of an elderly, portly man with red cheeks, twinkling eyes and a snow white beard. But where did this image come from? According to this story on the Branding Strategy Insider blog, the image of Santa that has been burned into our collective American psyche is none other than the visage of Lou Prentice, a retired salesman from New Jersey. And the power behind this massive marketing move? None other than the Coca-Cola Company. Being the thorough, detail-oriented fanatic I am, I decided to dig a bit deeper. Apparently, the original image of a plump and jolly Santa was conjured up by Thomas Nast in 1863.
But no matter what your image of Santa is based on, or even if you don’t believe he ever existed (lump of coal for you, friend), have a wonderful holiday season and a happy 2009! Oh, and if you need a strong partner for your own massive marketing move, you can’t beat QuantumDigital!
